Things I’m Loving Lately: Summer Edition
There’s a chill in the evening air that’s starting to hint fall is on the way. With only one month of summer left, I’m trying my best to soak up every moment. This weekend we have plans to spend the day in Napa, starting with a 5k in the vineyards in the morning followed by a mud bath in Calistoga in the afternoon. Words cannot describe how excited I am!
I had a rough week with Coco while Brandon was out of town so I’m in dire need of some relaxation time. I won’t go into too much detail but let’s just say that after three consecutive sleepless nights and multiple rolls of paper towels, I’m thankful that feeding her brown rice and pumpkin finally did the trick.
Anyway, I hope you have plans to enjoy what’s left of summertime in the next month! In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite recent finds:
#1 Broiler S’mores
You guys, Brandon has never been camping! As a kid who spent plenty of time snuggled up in sleeping bags out in the wilderness, I found that to be shocking. I thought everyone has been camping at some point?
I would love to eventually invest in some gear so that I can take him on his first camping trip but for now I’m settling for camping out at home with broiler s’mores. I like to make them with whole grain honey graham crackers, dark chocolate and vegan marshmallows. YUM.
#2 Hummingbirds
We bought a hummingbird feeder at Lowe’s for our patio and I swear it was the best $20 I’ve ever spent. Our couch is less than five feet away from the feeder and I love to lay down and watch them while listening to the sound of their tiny wings fluttering. It’s so peaceful and relaxing.
#3 Coconut Milk Body Cream
I bought Alba’s Hawaiian Body Cream out of excitement for our honeymoon back in April and I’ve been using it all summer. It’s super hydrating without being greasy and the coconut scent is subtle enough that it won’t leave you feeling nauseous.
#4 Argan Oil Mascara
Last time I was at Sephora I discovered that they stopped carrying the Korres Volcanic Mineral Mascara that I liked so I decided to try Josie Maran’s new Black Oil Mascara instead. I was a little hesitant because I found her original mascara to be really clumpy but that’s not the case with this one. It does such a good job at lifting and separating without making a clumpy, flaky mess. I love it!
#5 Dry Shampoo
I talk a lot about beauty products in these posts, huh? Sorry, it’s a sickness. But listen, if you’re a dry shampoo user then I bet you would love this one. It smells good enough to eat! And Alterna is good about leaving out toxins so you can feel good about using it.
#6 Good Books
Thanks to your recommendations on my last book review, I picked up a copy of Where’d You Go Bernadette and I’m loving it so far. The format was kind of weird at first but after the first twenty pages or so, I got used to it. I’m really enjoying the witty and sarcastic humor!
#7 Google Search Terms
This has nothing to do with summer but I couldn’t help sharing it with you. The majority of the search terms that lead people to my blog are pretty straight forward but every now and then I’ll get one that really cracks me up. I should keep a running list but the most recent one that caught my eye was this: best cake images for girl friend who is a chocalate freak.
I guess food porn really is a thing.
#8 Running
I’ve been bit by the running bug again! More running means I need new shoes, right? Right. I bought my first pair of Asics Gel Kayanos (they were barely on sale at Zappos) and I’m house-testing them before I fully commit to the high price tag. So far I like them but I’m not sure about the color. What do you think? Too much?
Besides our 5k this weekend, I’m contemplating a 10k in the fall and then I may sign up for a half marathon at the beginning of next year. I’m hesitant to run a half because I’ve heard that people lose their toenails when they run for that long and I’m not sure if I could handle that. I’m also very under trained for the 5k in Napa so I’m not expecting any PRs this weekend but I am looking forward to the complimentary wine tasting after!
Prior Editions:
Things I’m Loving Lately: Natural Beauty Product Edition…and food
Things I’m Loving Lately: Wine and Easy Meals
Things I’m Loving Lately: Tea and Trail Mix
Ginger Pear Spritzers + Things I’m Loving Lately
Questions:
What are your summer favorites?
What’s your favorite running shoe?
Have you ever lost a toenail from running?
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Sorry to hear about Coco, hopefully she’s feeling better. We’ve had similar instances lately… and I know how unpleasant they can be at 2:30am. That mascara looks great! And I’m always on the hunt for natural make up products!
Is it horrible that I’m actually looking forward to summer ending and fall showing up? Not that I don’t enjoy summer, but the heat starts to tire me out after a while, and I just love the peace and calm that comes with fall :D Oh, and dry shampoo is the love of my life. Seriously have no idea how I’d get by without it.
Um, your weekend plans sound amazing! 5k, mud bath and wine tastings? Why do we not live in the same town? Cause I’d definitely do all of those things.
Where did you buy that dry shampoo? I use the treseme stuff, but yours sounds better.
The search terms are always my favorite!!! There are so many good ones in so little space for you! Usually, mine are few and far between, but that list is super impressive. It tickles…it just does.
I’muhnuh read that book and try that coconut body cream lickety split! I hope you get some good rest this weekend and that Coco is feeling better!!
The things we do for our furbabies, right? Glad that Coco is feeling better! I love that this post is a little heavy on the beauty products — a lot of the stuff I’m using just isn’t really working for me anymore, but I hate going and buying piles of stuff without knowing if it’s decent.
Ahh you should totally take Brandon camping… I haven’t been in 5 years and I’d love to go again some time. Happy Friday Sarah!
I just recently became obsessed with dry shampoo…checking out that brand as soon as my current bottle runs out!! This summer I’ve been obsessed with watermelon, peaches, Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA, jean shorts, and anything caprese! Funny how your summer faves are mostly beauty related and most of mine are food related :) Have a great weekend in Napa…so jealous!
Aww, I hope Coco is feeling better! And I just started on the dry shampoo thing and I love it! That’s basically all I got for beauty things though…I’m a tad hopeless ;-)
Aww, I hope Coco is feeling better! And I just started on the dry shampoo thing and I love it! That’s basically all I got for beauty things though…I’m a tad hopeless ;-)
Love your broiler s’mores – sounds like the best of both worlds to me! Clearly not a big camping fan here :) I think the running shoes are super cute – there’s no such thing as running stuff that’s too bright. Good luck in your 5k this weekend. You are SO lucky to live in a place where you can run through vineyards and drink wine afterwards, not to mention the mud bath! I had one at Solage last November and it was lovely :) Enjoy!
Solage is where we’re going too! EEk! I’m excited to check out their mineral pools.
But I have to admit, I’m a tad jealous of your Martha’s vineyard trip. I’ve never been but it looks like the perfect summer getaway! I hope you had or are having a fabulous time. :)
Good morning and Happy Friday! First of all, I’m a huge dry shampoo lover. I don’t know what I did before I discovered it, because I sweat nearly everyday with my job and can’t wash my hair that much. My BirchBox deliveries have had some good brands of dry shampoo lately, but I’ve never seen the one you mention. I can’t believe summer is nearing an end. In the City, I felt like it never started since we don’t get the best weather all the time. Good luck in your 5K! And hope to see you in a class sometime soon.
Thanks Ashley! I promise I will make it to your class sooner than later. :)
Broiler smokes are good but real is my fave! :) I love camping and haven’t been in far too long. This summer I made smores at my parents cabin in Truckee with ritz crackers and they are so good! The sweet and salty combo is delish.
I have always ran in Nike’s, but I think my next pair might be something else. It’s time to change it up! Have a great 5k & wine tasting. Sounds like a good race! I’m going to do another 10k in the future but not sure about a half! It’s just so long!
You should let me know which 10k you are considering- I might try to join you! Assuming you want the company. :)
There are two in May every year here. One is in Santa Rosa called the Human Race and one is the next weekend in Windsor (more north of SR) called Wine Country Half Marathon (but they do a 5k & 10k as well). I’d love for you to do one, though you are much faster than me! haha.
I’m pretty sure I remember our 10k pace being about the same, if not- me being slower than you! I would love to do one of those in May with you. Let me know when it get’s closer if there’s one that you would rather do and I’ll keep a note to remind myself too. :)
Love these types of posts. Your weekend sounds so fun. I want to try a mud bath — enjoy and good luck with the race!!
I lost my breath after a 30 minute long run, never a toenail! :) I like reading of your active lifestyle, it’s kind of motivating and inspiring!
Unfortunately I have lost 3 toenails from running. .. all of them were while training for a marathon! I am totally going to get on the s’mores wagon this weekend. I’ve been enjoying the DQ s’mores blizzard this summer <– have you had one – they are delicious!!
Ive always wanted to do a run in Napa and spend the day drinking wine after! Have a great time and good luck!
OMG I love that you put your Google search terms on here… I have gotten some hysterical ones too that always crack me up. Love seeing the things that somehow draw people to our sites. And YUM about those broiler s’mores… Need them in my life!
Ohhh poor Coco! I hope she is doing much better now! I get so upset whenever Emma isn’t feeling well – it breaks my heart!
Sounds like you have an awesome weekend planned – hope you enjoy it!! And I lost both of my big toe nails in high school from all the sports I played – so gross!! haha
That mascara sounds awesome!! I definitely would want to try that and the dry shampoo (can you believe that I’ve never tried dry shampoo yet??). Broiled s’mores sound fab!! It’s hard for me to find vegan marshmallows though because I live in a small town and my health food store doesn’t carry them. Last time I bought them was in the town where I went to uni last fall for my daughter’s first birthday. I think I need to buy more because that was a while ago :)
Vegan marshmallows?!! Oooh I need to get some of those before the summer ends! Ever since nixing gelatin, I totally miss making smores by the fire.
Sorry to hear that Miss Coco is having a hard time… hope that she’s back to 100%!
The neighbors behind us have this huge tree that all of these hummingbirds hang out by, and we love it. They’re so pretty fluttering around our backyard, though Harley is determined to catch one!
Speaking of books, funny thing — the day after reading your Emily Giffin book review, I got the book in the mail as a surprise from my mom… so I shall be reading it soon!
I’ve been running a long while now and I have yet to lose a toenail [knock on wood]. You just need to make sure your feet have enough room in the shoe, especially when they swell and extra space for your toes. People tend to go a 1/2 size or a full size up. I even got through marathon training with all my toenails :) Just slowly work your way up to the half. I think you’ll be fine!
Hope Coco is feeling better.
That’s very reassuring, thanks Sonia! :)
Are you thinking about doing the Livermore 1/2 Marathon next year? It’s at the end of March. Plenty of time to train. And a dozen or so wineries to taste from at the finish line . . . ;)
Yep, that’s the one I was thinking of doing! It’s tempting with it being so close to home!